How much bleach to kill rootrot or brown algae?

Im having a problem with either rootrot or brown algae from day 1 on this run. Its dwc, res temps are 68 and plenty of DO and non-organic nutes, but the clones used had the problem before being added to the system and I havent been able to get it under control, veg is ridiculosly stunted. When i dump res and start again it goes away for a ople of days then back with a vengence. H2O2 doesnt seem to be doing much.

From reading around bleach seems to be the answer for killing pathogens as many commercial growers use it and it doesnt oxidize roots as bad as H2O2 as it can be used in much lower doses. Im just wondering how much to use? Ive heard levels from 2ppm-4ppm, then reducing to 0.5ppm permanently. Some say .4ml per gallon or .5ml per gal.

Anyone here that has used this to treat an infection, how much did you use? Or anyone with a link to a guide on using bleach in hydro?

Thanks in advance

I wouldn't ever use bleach. I have had great results with h202. Then I woul read Heisenberg tea method. First sticky in this forum.

1tbsp/5gal is rule of thumb I think . Also clean and flush res weekly, and keep it 60-70 degrees

Also I think it's important how strong the bleach is , I'd use Clorox at probably less than what I said maybe 1tbsp/7gal

This is equivalent of putting a band-aid on a shotgun wound.

The question should be "What am I doing wrong that I get root rot & brown algae?"

rez temps, insufficient aeration and poorly formulated nutes

ShineOn said:

I wouldn't ever use bleach. I have had great results with h202. Then I woul read Heisenberg tea method. First sticky in this forum.

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Check out this thread - https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/327967-bleach-instead-h2o2-3.html

Nizza said:

Also I think it's important how strong the bleach is , I'd use Clorox at probably less than what I said maybe 1tbsp/7gal

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the bleach I am using says less than 5% chlorine, what does 1tbsp equate to in ml's? Is thsfor initial treatment of infection or as a constant level?

PetFlora said:

This is equivalent of putting a band-aid on a shotgun wound.

The question should be "What am I doing wrong that I get root rot & brown algae?"

rez temps, insufficient aeration and poorly formulated nutes

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Rez temps are 68F, nutes are GH flora series and plenty of aeration, the problem was the clones used were already infected and never recovered.

I forget what it's called but there's stuff you can use that sterilizes ur clones if u fucked up and need to re root em. You re cut em then dip em in it then rinse it then use cloning gel/whatever u use. Cloning without a propogator is what people do if they are scared of root for but using no propogator you need to know how to do it differently

one factor that i didnt see you address is light. is it possible that light is getting into your root zone?

Nizza said:

I forget what it's called but there's stuff you can use that sterilizes ur clones if u fucked up and need to re root em. You re cut em then dip em in it then rinse it then use cloning gel/whatever u use. Cloning without a propogator is what people do if they are scared of root for but using no propogator you need to know how to do it differently

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these clones were from a hydro cloner, ive never had problems using a propagator usually

guerrilla medic said:

one factor that i didnt see you address is light. is it possible that light is getting into your root zone?

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res's are coated with reflective material, i checked for light leaks before starting this run

I think you would have to use so much bleach to get rid of the slime that it would kill your plants. You will probably be ok if you clean everything and rinse the roots out with bleach or h202... make sure you get all the slime off the roots and gently pull on dead looking roots to see if they want to come off... and make a new res with aquashield and no bleach/h202. That should fix things unless you have an advanced case of slime... then you would have to get some ancient forest worm castings and zho and make a tea, but it should fix any root problems. You can try bleach, but my guess is it won't do diddly shit.

Malevolence said:

I think you would have to use so much bleach to get rid of the slime that it would kill your plants. You will probably be ok if you clean everything and rinse the roots out with bleach or h202... make sure you get all the slime off the roots and gently pull on dead looking roots to see if they want to come off... and make a new res with aquashield and no bleach/h202. That should fix things unless you have an advanced case of slime... then you would have to get some ancient forest worm castings and zho and make a tea, but it should fix any root problems. You can try bleach, but my guess is it won't do diddly shit.

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Thanks for the info, unfortunatly bennies arent an option at the moment, no funds available. I just need to get this run to last another 40days as its in flower already, then i can start with new seeds. I emptied all the res's out yesterday and washed them,the airlines and airstones with a strong bleach solution and pulled any loose dead roots off that i could, i did add 7mls bleach to about 32L of water in each res, but I've been told plants can tolerate more than this, hence the thread. Last time i dumped and re-filled they improved for about 7-10 days, so I might get away with just cleaning out the res's every 10 days and limp them over the finish line.

If i was to rinse the roots out, what concentration of H2O2 or bleach would do this? how many ml's to litres of water?

your plants are actually dying right? They look sick? Could be your organic nutes staining the roots? Just a thought i had passing by this thread. You may want to look into your light leak issue if it really is some sort of slime.

RL420 said:

your plants are actually dying right? They look sick? Could be your organic nutes staining the roots? Just a thought i had passing by this thread. You may want to look into your light leak issue if it really is some sort of slime.

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Lol have you even read this thread? Nutes arent organic they are GH flora series, fully chem nutes and no light leaks at all. Plants actually look fine, its the roots that are infected with either root rot or brown algae. Its not the nutes staining the roots as ppms are very low, only 470ppm @.7 conversion.

karmeron said:

Lol have you even read this thread? Nutes arent organic they are GH flora series, fully chem nutes and no light leaks at all. Plants actually look fine, its the roots that are infected with either root rot or brown algae. Its not the nutes staining the roots as ppms are very low, only 470ppm @.7 conversion.

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oops thought you said organic in your first post. Maybe i smoked too much

I use bleach,only a couple drops per 5 gal so maybe 2.5-5 mils

Make the res temp 64 with a chiller or use high concentrate H202 every 4 days at about 1000:1 .

RL420 said:

oops thought you said organic in your first post. Maybe i smoked too much

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haha no prob

cheechZS said:

I use bleach,only a couple drops per 5 gal so maybe 2.5-5 mils

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2.5-5ml's per 5gal??

*BUDS said:

Make the res temp 64 with a chiller or use high concentrate H202 every 4 days at about 1000:1 .

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Wouldnt 1000:1 - H2O2:water nuke a plant to death?

Al B. Fuct says... "Laundry bleach (sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl) in hydroponics: Just don't do it. PLEASE. Use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 50% grade at 1ml/L of nute soln, applied every 3-4 days. Controls all pathogens and oxygenates roots when H2O2 breaks down. NaOCl is toxic to cannabis plants, as are its breakdown components, inclusive of NaCl (sodium chloride eg table salt). If you can only get 35% 'food grade' (used for sterilising food processing equip), use 1.7ml/L."

Weedo Bandito said:

Al B. Fuct says... "Laundry bleach (sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl) in hydroponics: Just don't do it. PLEASE. Use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 50% grade at 1ml/L of nute soln, applied every 3-4 days. Controls all pathogens and oxygenates roots when H2O2 breaks down. NaOCl is toxic to cannabis plants, as are its breakdown components, inclusive of NaCl (sodium chloride eg table salt). If you can only get 35% 'food grade' (used for sterilising food processing equip), use 1.7ml/L."

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Well bleach actually worked, i have new root growth after using 12ml per 30L of water